the furthest point from the origin of my cop bribing drive were the salinas grandes - or salt flats. we had good luck with the weather all day, but that evaporated when we arrived at this allegedly dry lake. spitting rain quickly turned into violent horizontal rain that soaked us through, and forced us to return to our vehicle after only a few minutes. it was a little frustrating, but we all had the world's largest salt flats in bolivia on our upcoming agenda, so we knew (or at least hoped) we'd get to see something bigger and better in the next few weeks. more frustrating was the drive back. it was my turn behind the wheel, and i soon discovered that the rain had been delivered in a huge cloud which had now enveloped the windy, rocky mountain road. it was annoying because it was the kind of road that on a clear day would be so much fun to rally down - and it must have been years since i last did that in a four wheeled vehicle. hopefully there will be more driving and less fog and police on the road ahead...